


The photo shoot

by TheCrimsonValley



Series: The photo shoot [1]
Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Feel-good, Fluff, Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-29
Updated: 2020-01-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:54:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22468972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCrimsonValley/pseuds/TheCrimsonValley
Summary: Albert Mason wishes to do some photographs of people and recrutes Arthur as a casual model. Arthur accidentally mentions this to John. Suddenly the entire camp wishes to have their picture taken.
Series: The photo shoot [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1616572
Comments: 6
Kudos: 25





	The photo shoot

**Author's Note:**

> This will be part of another series: get ready for some wholesome dorks being idiots as they get familiar with the good photograph boy.

He would kick John Marston's ass for this. That, Arthur had promised it to himself for the last couple of days and he hoped that the other man was well aware of this fact. No matter how much Arthur wished to believe the opposite, there just was no helping it, John never seemed to learn. He was so quick to mouth off that at times Arthur had wondered if he even heard half of what came out of his mouth. 

Of course he had put some blame onto himself, he should have known better than to retell anything to Marston. The outcome should have been predictable yet he had felt charitable, not to mention a slightly bit tipsy from a few drinks. That he had mentioned his plans had just been a passing comment that had come back to bite him hard in the ass. 

It had been on Albert's suggestion. The man had seemingly grown a tad tired of only photographing nature, giving a motivation of how an artist needed to broaden their horizons to continue developing. As Arthur himself had understood it, it had been nothing but a fancy way to ask him to model. “Nothing fancy” had been the photographer's words “you just behave as normal and I take a few pictures of you in these marvellous environments”. There had been the desire to decline but by whatever powers there were, he could never deny Albert a request when he had taken a gander at those large gleaming eyes of his. 

The first ones that had approached him had been Tilly and Mary-Beth, both overly excited and asking him if there were any possibility for them to come along. Their lines had baffled him and it had not been until the women had made sure to complain of how it had been “far too long!” since they had a good picture taken that the cogs had all fallen into place. By then the boulder was already rolling down the hill and he had not had the heart to decline them. 

That had turned out to be one of his gravest mistakes as, once the two women got his approval, Abigail had approached him with those begging eyes and telling him how wonderful it would be for Jack to experience something new. As soon as he had given a low mumble of how they should “do it for the boy” he had accepted defeat. The news were out around camp and there was no stopping to all his companions asking, one by one, for the possibility for them to join up with him. In the end it had developed into a full-on plan on its own, who had to go when, in order to keep the camp up and functioning without causing too much attention their way. 

Steering his mare towards the meeting point, Arthur muttered to himself that he would make sure to sew Marston's mouth shut himself before he ever told him anything ever again. He had at least managed to fight the rest of them back long enough to explain he had to go ahead of them, at least with a couple of minutes. It had been under the pretext that he needed to make sure there was even enough equipment to “take all these damn pictures” and he would take to his grave that it was rather out of worry for poor Albert's heart giving out under the stress of being approached by a large group. 

Even though the day's events had not been planned, he could not help but to admit that the other man had, unconsciously, chosen a good place for a party to spend some time at. The surroundings were a mix of woodlands right next to open fields that hung heavy with flowers. There were plenty of shadow to shield from the sun and the breeze felt gentle around him.

Setting eyes upon the frame of Albert, Arthur jumped off his horse, allowing the mare to move freely among the tall grass. It struck him that, as per usual, the photographer was as oblivious as ever to the dangers of nature, his back turned and his focus seemingly onto his camera. Giving a low chuckle, he started to approach on swift feet. 

Getting closer he heard how the other man appeared to be mumbling to himself. It was a small gesture that he had picked up on during their meetings and one he found rather adorable. Heads in the clouds, that was how he would describe this man and he hoped, against all odds, that it would be a trait that would stick with Albert for the rest of his life. Almost holding his breath, Arthur snuck in the last few feet. 

“'Mornin'” he said, moving half into the frame of the camera lens. 

A screech escaped Albert's lips, the photographer quickly taking a few quick steps back and, stumbling over his own feet, ending up tumbling onto the ground. Instant regret crept into Arthur as he muttered a curse while quickly moving up to the other man's side, reaching out a hand to aid in him getting up once more. 

“Sorry.” 

Albert did not answer, his hand clutched over his chest and his breath rapid, almost wheezing. For a few seconds, Arthur felt a pinch of worry that he had frightened the photographer half to death yet his muscles stopped tensing as there came that joyful little laughter from the other man. 

“Oh, you gave me quite the fright there Mr Morgan” Albert said, grasping his hand as he rose to his feet “I thought it was some animal that had snuck up on me.” 

“Not unless the beasts 'round here's became a whole lot more polite.” 

Their laughters unionised for a few seconds as he felt certain that both their thoughts had trailed off to the various hunts for good photographs of these “marvellous creatures” as Albert so often had called them. 

“I'm delighted to see you showed up” the photographer said as he moved back towards his camera “and I dearly hope it is no trouble to ask you for your precious time.” 

“Nah, I got some to spare.” 

Seeing that warm smile of Albert's, Arthur once more felt the light pinch in his heart. Rubbing against the back of his neck, he reached up to take his hat off. It was a simple sign, one that he hated people picking up on yet couldn't get rid of. A gesture that told of insecurity and a small dash of shame that he felt for abusing the kindness of this man whom still seemed to have such a bright eyed view of the world. 

“So...” he said as he watched the other man scurry about “might have been some accidental changes to the plan...” 

“Is that so?” 

The cheerful voice of Albert melted his heart to the very core and only served to make his apologetic demeanour worse. 

“I told ya I got this friend back in camp, a real idiot ya see.” 

“Mr Marston?” 

“That's the one” Arthur muttered, his fingers scratching slightly at the back of his hair “might have let it slip we was gonna take some photos and he might have run his mouth about it...”

For the first time since his arrival Albert moved his gaze from the camera, turning instead to look at him. Somewhere he half wished the other man hadn't, at it only made him feel worse to look into those bright eyes. 

“No need to look so down trotted Arthur” Albert said, his general kind smile on his lips “it's just your friend, yes?” 

“Well... 'bout that...”

Before he could muster the courage to explain it all in detail he locked eyes towards the road he himself had travelled. Those that had been allowed to take the first shift had already started approaching, their happy chatter travelling before them and drawing the attention of the man by his side. Seeing the photographer's eyes widen in amazement, Arthur quickly started to thumb along the brim of his hat. 

“I told ya he ran his mouth” he muttered, more as a defence than anything else. 

Much to his surprise, he felt Albert hook into his arm. As he turned his head he was only met with the same bright smile. 

“Well then Mr Morgan, I'm expecting you to make me acquainted with your friends!”


End file.
